Donald Trump meets Kim Jong Un: Private talks begin

The two leaders met for the first time at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore

They exchanged firm handshakes, and neither of them smiled

Kim Jong Un said old prejudices worked as obstacles but the two countries had overcome all of them

SINGAPORE - After waiting for months to see how the historic meeting between two of the worlds most unpredictable leaders shapes up, all eyes were trained on the moment the U.S. President Donald Trump and the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, walked up to each other and exchanged a handshake set to go down in history.

The two leaders arrived in Singapore on Sunday and met for the very first time on Tuesday morning at the Capella hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore.

Kim Jong Un arrived at the Capella in his limousine, at roughly 8:55 a.m. local time - five minutes before the meeting was to begin.

Trump arrived at the hotel roughly five minutes later.

Singapore navy vessels, and air force Apache helicopters patrolled, while fighter jets and an Gulfstream 550 Airborne Early Warning aircraft circled the area as the two leaders entered the hotel.

Against the backdrop of interspersed American and North Korean flags, the two leaders approached each other on a colonnade, while maintaining cautious, stern expressions, and shook hands.

The 33-year-old North Korean leader was heard telling Trump, Nice to meet you, Mr. President, to which, Trump, who is twice Kims age, gave him a thumbs up.

With scores of journalists, photographers, analysts and experts from across the world watching closely, the leaders posed for photographs with slanted smiles and then headed to a meeting room where they sat beside each other and addressed the press.

The U.S. President told reporters, "I feel really great. Were going to have a great discussion and I think tremendous success. It will be tremendously successful. And its my honour and we will have a terrific relationship I have no doubt."

Meanwhile, speaking via a translator, Kim Jong Un said, It was not an easy path here. There's a history of holding onto our ankles (a phrase which means that someone is trying to hold someone else back) and it appeared there were times that there were unfortunate practices where they were trying to block our eyes and our ears, but we've overcome everything and come to this place.

Trump responded, Thats true.

After the brief exchange, Trump and Kim Jong Un made their way to the library at the Capella for their one-on-one private conversation, along with translators.

South Koreas Yonhap news said that like the rest of the world, the South Korean President, Moon Jae In too watched the two leaders exchange their first historic handshake.

Jae In has been one of the key architectsbehind making the historic summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un possible.

Earlier in the day, Jae In said in a series of tweets that he was hopeful that the summit will to be recognised as a historic milestone from war to peace.

The South Korean leader also said, The nuclear issue could not be completely solved by one summit but could take one year, two years or even longer for a complete resolution.

Further, the South Korean media broadcast various gatherings across the country, which showed people cheering as they watch the historic moment on television sets.

Analysts were quick to point out that the handshake between the two leaders on Tuesday was very different from the other historic handshake between the two Korean leaders - Kim Jong Un and the South Korean President.

They said that the Moon-Kim handshake was more dramatic and the South Korean President even stepped over the line into the North.

Meanwhile, the Trump-Kim handshake was said to be more formal, followed by which, the two leaders smiled, shook hands again and sat beside each other.

Shortly before the meeting, Trump said on Twitter, "The fact that I am having a meeting is a major loss for the U.S., say the haters & losers. We have our hostages, testing, research and all missle (sic) launches have stoped (sic), and these pundits, who have called me wrong from the beginning, have nothing else they can say! We will be fine!"

Meanwhile, the private discussion, which was expected to last an hour, was wrapped up within 41 minutes and as the two leaders emerged from the meeting, reporters yelled out questions at the duo, asking Kim Jong Un whether he had agreed to give up his nuclear weapons.

Trump told reporters that his meeting with the North Korean leader was going very, very good. Excellent relationship.

The two leaders then headed to attend the expanded talks, along with top officials from both the sides.

The larger bilateral dialogue featured Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, White House chief of staff John Kelly and national security adviser John Bolton seated alongside Trump.

Meanwhile, Kim Jong Uns top aides included Kim Yong-chol, who is believed to be the North Korean leaders "right hand man, along with North Korea's foreign minister, Ri Yong-ho and one of the highest-ranking officials in Pyongyang, Ri Su-yong - who has previously held the post of foreign minister.

As the meeting began, Trump reportedly told Kim Jong Un they would work together to solve a problem that at this point has been unable to be solved.

He added, Working together, we will get it taken care of.

Meanwhile, Kim Jong Un said that there will be challenges ahead but that he will work with Trump.

He added via the translator, We overcame all kinds of skepticism and speculations about this summit and I believe that this is good for the peace.

The summit is set to conclude with a working lunch.

Before leaving for Washington, Trump is expected to address a news conference in Singapore after the summit concludes.